Buffy the Potential
by Dark Phoenix 13X
Summary: First in series A Different Start: At the age of 10, Buffy lost both her parents. As a result she was sent to live with her mother’s sister Ellen, who she had never before met. On the night of her eleventh, birthday Buffy meets a Watcher and...
1. Prologue

**Buffy the Potential**

**Summary:** First in series A different Start: At the age of 10, Buffy lost both her parents. As a result she was sent to live with her mother's sister Ellen, who she had never before met. On the night of her eleventh, birthday Buffy meets a watcher and the then active slayer. Since she's the Potential they've been looking for they capture her for the Council. When the slayer dies and India is called instead of what everyone believed to be Buffy, she's allowed some liberties and returns to L.A. with Merrick. When fifteen, she's called as the slayer.

**Timeline:** Buffy goes through the seasons, starts preseason 1 up through "Chosen". Supernatural preseason 1, but with facts and stuff revealed in the seasons.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them.

**Pairing:** Eventual Buffy/Dean, the rest I'll figure out later.

**Note:** I couldn't have made this story what it is without the help of my beta, thank you Tanydwr! :D

**Prologue**

_California, Los Angeles, February 1991_

"Hey, Mom," Buffy called out as she entered the house, Natalie's mom just dropped her off. It was a system that her mom and Natalie's mom had, they took shifts in picking up the girls. One week it was Natalie's mom, the other it was Buffy's mom. Turning, she saw some flowers on the table beside the door.

"Ohh," Buffy said, smiling at them. 'Seems like mom and dad made up', she thought to herself happily before turning to call up the stairs as she put her jacket down. "Hey. Flower-gettin' lady. Where are you?"

When there was no reply, Buffy frowned, looking down the hall toward the kitchen. "Mom?" she called again.

Puzzled, Buffy turned to look in the living room and saw her lying on the sofa. "What are you doing?" she asked as she walked into the living room, but then she stopped abruptly.

Her mother, Joyce Summers, was lying on the sofa. Her eyes were open, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. One arm was hanging loosely over the edge of the sofa and she wasn't moving or blinking.

"Mom?" Buffy called again quietly, then even quieter, "Mom? Mommy?"

Choking out a sob, Buffy rushed over and began shaking Joyce by the shoulders. "Mom! Mom! Mom Mom Mom –" Feeling slightly panicked, she began to shout it, invading her mother's personal space as she thrust her face close, but still getting no reaction.

Finally, Buffy got up, panting and sniffling and ran towards the kitchen. Once there, she picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1. Then fidgeting anxiously, she waited while it rang.

"911, emergency," the operator answered on the other end.

"Hello?" Buffy asked.

"Do you have –" the operator started, but Buffy cut her off.

"My mom, she – she's not breathing," Buffy told her.

"Is she conscious?" the operator asked.

Buffy moved back into living room with the phone, "No. I-I-I can't, she – she's not breathing."

"Okay, I need you to give me your address."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"I'm going to send an ambulance over," the operator informed her calmly.

Buffy told the operator her address, or what she remembered of it at the moment. She was only little and she was panicked about her mom.

"I'm sending a unit right away. Are you alone in the house?" the operator questioned.

"Yes, my father… he's at work," Buffy told her.

"Well, did you see what happened, did she fall?" the operator inquired.

"No, no, I-I came home and she – what should I do?" Buffy wanted to know.

"Do you know how to administer CPR?"

"No," Buffy replied, upset.

"Okay, it's very simple. You want to tilt your mother's head back. First, check her airway and see that nothing's blocking it. If it's clear, pinch her nose tightly. Then cover her mouth with yours, and breathe into her mouth," the operator instructed her. "Breathe into her mouth twice, making sure air comes out. Next, I want you to find your mother's breast bone. About two inches above the end, put one hand on top of the other and push with the heel of your hand, you got that? Do it fifteen times, and then breathe into her mouth again."

Buffy nodded and proceeded to follow the operator's instructions. Then, taking a few seconds, she placed a hand on her mother's forehead whispering, "Come on, Mom."

Buffy picked the phone up from where she left it and said, "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Is your mother breathing?" the operator inquired.

"No," Buffy replied.

"If she's not responding to CPR, the best thing is to wait for the paramedics, okay?" the operator informed her.

Angrily, Buffy demanded, "But when will they be here?"

"They are very nearby," the operator assured her.

"She's cold," Buffy informed the operator.

"The body is cold?" the operator inquired.

"No, my mom!" Buffy cried out in denial, "Should I make her warm?"

"No, just wait for the paramedics," the operator directed her.

She needed help, Buffy realized. This person on the other end not helping her mother. She needed her daddy, her daddy could help her. She needed to tell him to come home. "I… I need to make a call," Buffy informed to the operator and hung up.

With shaking hands, she dialed her father's number.

"Hello, Hank Summers' office," Hank answered.

"Daddy?" Buffy inquired in a weak and scared voice.

"Buffy?" Hank questioned immediately, worried and confused. "What's wrong honey?"

"Mommy's not – she's not… breathing," Buffy replied.

Fear gripped Hank's spine but before he could ask more questions, Buffy continued, "The 911 operator sent help. But she's cold, Daddy. And I don't know what to do!?"

"Listen, honey, I'm on my way, stay there and wait for the ambulance," Hank instructed his daughter.

"Okay," Buffy said, and the connection was broken as Hank hung up and raced out of his office, ignoring his secretary's questions as to what was wrong.

Buffy stared at the phone in her hand, before she heard a siren coming from somewhere outside. She ran outside to meet the paramedics.

"Hi I'm Jim, this is Steve, what's your name?" One of them asked Buffy as the other immediately went to Joyce's side and checked her pulse.

"B-Buffy." Buffy replied. "Are you gonna save her?" she questioned fearful for the possibility of losing her mother.

"We're going to do our best." Jim answered, before he moved over to Steve and began to help the other man in trying to revive the mother of the girl.

Buffy watched as the medics were working on her mother, everything feeling very surreal to her. Jim was asking her questions, but she could barely make her mind focus. Meanwhile Steve was still working on her mom.

After a few minutes Steve shook his head, and murmured, "She's cold, man." Buffy stared at him with wide-eyes.

"Call it," Jim answered sadly.

The Steve looked grim as he began to pack up his stuff. Buffy's lower lip began to tremble. They weren't helping her mommy. Jim turned to her, standing slowly and walking towards her.

"I'm sorry," he said helplessly to her.

"Wha-what do we do now?" Buffy questioned, unwilling to accept this was it. There had to be something they could do. They were ambulance men. They fixed people, or got them to the hospital so the doctors could fix what they couldn't. An image of her cousin Celia struggling against something came to mind, she quickly pushed it away and focused on the now.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I have to tell you that your mother's dead," he told her gently, his face sad. "It looks like she did die a good while before you found her. There's… there's nothing you could have done."

"W-what…?" Buffy asked, still in shock.

"I'm gonna call it in. The coroner's office will come by and take her in, and they'll determine the cause of death," Jim informed her.

Buffy continued to stare at him. In the distance, she heard the ambulance radio but tuned it out. Steve said something but Buffy tuned that out as well. The only thing left in her world was her mother lying still on the sofa.

"Okay. Jim We gotta fly," Steve called over to his partner.

"All right," Jim replied, then knelt down to talk to Buffy. "I'm gonna call this right away. Now the coroner's office may take a while. You might stay at a neighbor's until someone comes. Even if it's for a short while. Try not to disturb the body," Buffy continued to stare up at him in stunned silence.

"Do you need anything? Is there someone you can call?" Jim wanted to know.

"My dad is on the way," Buffy informed him softly, not noticing a car pulling up next door. An elderly couple exited the vehicle and walked over towards the house.

"Let's go," Steve called as he carried their stuff out and spotted the elderly couple now in the doorway. "Are you the neighbors?" he asked them.

"Yes, what's happened?" the elderly woman asked the medic.

Jim turned to pick up his own bag, before turning back to Buffy. "I'm very sorry for your loss," he offered sincerely.

"Thank you," Buffy replied.

He exited, leaving the front door open. Buffy walked to the door, still holding the phone, and looked out. "Good luck," she called after them. She barely registered the arms of her neighbor enveloping her in a hug.

Buffy watched the ambulance doors closing and then the ambulance pulling away, not hearing the concerned voices of her neighbors.

Finally Buffy turned and walked back inside the house, still holding the phone, still looking dazed. She looked over towards her mother, the ambulance siren in the background fading away as she felt tears trickling down her cheeks and again she felt arms surrounding her as she broke down.

***

_One hour later_

The phone rang and Buffy snapped out of her daze and answered it before one of her neighbors could, "H-hello?"

"Is this the residence of Hank Summers?" a female voice asked.

"Yes, my dad. He-he's not here yet," Buffy informed the lady.

"My name is Olivia, I'm with Presbyterian Hospital, I'm calling about an accident, is your mother or another adult home?"

"M-my mom is…" Buffy trailed off incapable of finishing her sentence.

"Can you put her on?"

"N-no, she's not… I-I'm not supposed to move the body," Buffy answered, and then gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth as though she had just said something she should not have.

Buffy could hear Mrs. Hendrickson ask her who was on the phone, she ignored the woman needing to know what about first.

Silence was on the other end for a couple of seconds so Buffy hurried to fill it. "The coroner's office is supposed to come soon. But Jim, the paramedic guy, said it might take a while… Is-is daddy okay?" Buffy inquired.

"I, uh… What's your name sweetie?" Olivia inquired.

"Buffy"

"Is there anyone else you could call to stay with you Buffy?" Olivia asked.

"My dad is on his way over," Buffy informed her for the second time.

"He… he's not. He's here at the hospital, sweetheart." Olivia reminded the girl on the other end gently.

"Is he ok?" Buffy inquired.

"Is there anyone?" Olivia questioned avoiding the question then added, "A neighbor, a friend's mom or dad maybe?"

"My friend Natalie, she has a mom… and a dad, Also Mr. and Mrs. Hendrickson are here." Buffy informed her.

"Can you tell them our father is in Presbyterian Hospital? And maybe you should call over a friend." Olivia suggested.

"I… Is my father ok?" Buffy asked.

"Can you put Mr. or Mrs. Hendrickson on, please."

"Just tell me!" Buffy ordered crossly.

"I am sorry." Olivia answered her.

"No…" Buffy replied denying what she knew already. Those three words… she hated those three words. They meant death.

Buffy dropped the phone and backed away from it. She could vaguely hear Olivia and Mrs. Hendrickson call out to her but it didn't register. Mr. Hendrickson picked up the phone. Not even knowing where she was going, she ran out of the door ignoring the black car stopping in front of the house and just ran. She ran, not caring where she was going, just as long as it was far away from all the death.

Buffy had no idea what time it was when she stopped running. She collapsed onto her knees, tears running down her face. When she looked up, the first thing she noticed was that people were looking at her. The second was that she was in a park. The third thing she noticed was the sun was setting.

Buffy got to her feet, her legs shaky and unstable, but supporting her nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, she let it out before wiping the tears of her face and turning around walking back the way she had come.

After ten minutes of walking, she passed a dark alley when she was suddenly yanked in. A hand clasped in front of her mouth to muffle her screaming. Instinct kicked in, and Buffy moved her foot and stomped down hard on the foot of her attacker. He let out a scream of pain and she used the distraction of the adjusted hand to bite down as hard as she could. Drawing blood, she felt something tear and heard her attacker scream in pain and curse loudly before she was shoved away.

Buffy landed on her butt and for the first time looked at her attacker. She noticed something was wrong with his face and his eyes… Her eyes moved away from her attacker and desperately swept the alley from anything to use against her assailant. Before she could do what she wanted to do next, which was run away from her attacker and get help, her foe had her hauled up from the ground by one arm.

Snarling, the man with the deformed face growled, "Such a little thing like you should not be so much trouble. Your blood will barely make up for it."

Buffy was confused by his words but instinct again kicked in as the man moved her head aside and moved him mouth towards her neck. Then she was dropped to her feet as the man in front of her clutched his family jewels. Buffy had kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. Wasting no time, Buffy turned around and ran over to a metal bar she had spotted earlier – she had some difficulty raising the weapon but she did and she swung it hard against the deformed face of the man making his head snap to the side. She then brought the bar up and down hard on the man's back. She watched as the man fell to ground, groaning.

Buffy dropped the bar and walked over to an empty and dirty wooden crate. There was a piece loose and she yanked it off the crate and turned back to the man. Then again questioned her actions, her instincts had told her to take. Why? She should have made a run for it and got some help.

She could hear a voice on the other end of the alley interrupting her thoughts, "I think it came from here."

Two sets of feet came running towards her direction. Buffy turned towards the sound and ran towards it, only to feel something hard impact against her side and pain erupt at the place she had been hit, the next thing she knew was more pain as her body was flung through the air and crashed hard against the side of the alley.

"Get the girl!" a man's voice ordered.

Buffy raised her head and looked at a boy who could be no more than twelve, kneeling beside her. "Are you ok? Can you stand?" he asked.

Buffy looked past him to see a man struggle with her earlier assailant.

"He needs help," Buffy said, ignoring her own needs. She felt her hand grasp the piece of wood she had dropped on the impact against the wall.

"Don't worry; my dad can handle one vampire," the boy assured her confidently.

Buffy stared at him, startled, but somehow not surprised, his hazel green eyes locked with hers. She again looked past him to see his father being thrown to the other end of the alley. The vampire was rushing after him. Buffy pushed herself up, using the wall and then the boy as support.

She noticed the boy's worried look as he watched her, then his dad's fight. "We should go," the boy said in an urgent tone.

Buffy shook her head. "We should help," she said, surprised by her own words.

"Dad told me to get you out," the boy growled stubbornly, annoyed the girl wouldn't listen.

"My parents are dead! No one can tell me what I can and can't do anymore!" Buffy shouted with tearful eyes, taking a step towards the fight, only to feel the boy's hand on her arm holding her back. Why was he stopping her, she needed to do this, if she died she would be with her parents again.

"It's too dangerous!" he ordered the girl.

"I really don't care anymore!" Buffy informed him and then showed him the piece of wood in her hand. "Through the heart, right?" she asked him, recalling the old Dracula movies her father watched when he thought she was in bed.

The boy looked not quite knowing how to deal with her. "I care," he found himself saying "You're not dying on my watch, now let's go." He pulled her into the other direction.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice sneered and Buffy saw two more people with deformed faces, vampires, she corrected herself.

The boy raised his gun at the pair and they laughed. "That's not going to work on us little boy."

Buffy pushed him aside as one of the two vampires stormed them. She found instinct taking over again and plunged the piece of wood into the female vampire's chest. Her own eyes widened at her action. Why had she done that, how had she just done that? She had no conscious thought of the action. It was like it was purely instinct.

"Not the heart." The vampire taunted.

Buffy ducked the female's punch as she pulled the rough stake out from the vampire's chest. She felt two strong arms encircle her and hold her in place. The female vampire stepped closer to her, smiling wickedly. Then suddenly she stopped smiling, staring downwards before she burst into dust. Buffy saw the boy stand there, a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he knew he had just killed a vampire.

The boy then glared at her as though he was going to lecture her. Buffy found herself rolling her eyes. She stepped on the vampire's foot, causing his grip to loosen, and pushed with her feet off from the ground as hard as she could. It knocked the vampire off-balance and the pair both fell on their backs, only the vampire fell on the hard ground and Buffy on the vampire. Buffy rolled off him, raised her stake and plunged it into the vampire's heart turning it to dust, just as she heard another pair of footsteps arrive near her.

Buffy backed away only now that she had killed a vampire, did her actions and the fact that vampires were real truly sink in.

"You let her fight a vampire?" She heard the boy's father yell, which brought her out of her daze and made her look at the man.

"It's not like he could stop me," Buffy interjected and the man turned to face her before she continued. "He's not the boss of me! Neither are you!" After a slight pause as her lips began to tremble and a humorless laugh escaped them, "Only mommy and daddy were the boss of me. No one is the boss of me anymore."

"Listen little girl, I may not be the boss of you, but you can't be out here at dark. It's dangerous. Fighting vampires is dangerous. You could have gotten yourself killed!" the boy's father told her. "Where are your parents? I'll take you to them."

"If you wanted to take me to them you'd have to let the vampire eat me." Buffy peered up at the adult through tearful eyes. "I'm – I'm all alone now. I don't want to be here… I can't be here, not in a world where my parents are dead and apparently vampires are real. I – I just… I want my mommy."

Buffy felt her tears begin to fall and turned her head away, not wanting the man to see her cry. She startled a bit when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "What did I do? What did I do to deserve this?" she bit out heartbroken.

The man looked at her honestly. "Nothing. It's not your fault," he informed her. With a tearful face Buffy turned towards the man and then buried herself in his chest as she cried and screamed her heart out. The man just held her and turned to his son, who was standing nearby, watching sadly. "Go check on Sammy."

After about fifteen minutes, Buffy pulled away, still sniffling, but unable to cry anymore for the moment. "Thank you." She said softly.

The man looked at her and nodded, not saying anything.

"Sorry, John, that's my charge," a new voice said and Buffy watched in horror as her new protector crumbled to the ground.

Buffy scrambled for John's shotgun on the ground and aimed it shakily at the man standing near them. His clothes were ugly and something seemed off about him beside his inability to dress fashionably or at least ok.

"Don't worry, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm on your side," the man told her.

"He helped me and you knocked him out. Why should I believe you? What are you?" Buffy asked with John's shotgun trembling slightly as she struggled to keep the heavy weapon aimed at the stranger.

"Look at you, all Potential-worthy. I'm a demon, the name is Whistler. I work for the Powers That Be. They're the ones who sent me to you," he explained.

"D-Demons are real too?" Buffy asked with wide eyes before they narrowed suspiciously. "What do you want? What do these P-Powers That Be, whoever they are, w-want with _me_?" Buffy asked the demon with very bad fashion sense.

"The Powers That Be are the ones who guide their champions to where they are needed to stop evil. They do this by using messengers, like me, and sending their warriors dreams, but you're a bit young for that. The Powers keep the Balance between good and Evil," Whistler told her.

"So why were you sent to me?" Buffy asked, finally classifying the demon as probably not dangerous and lowering the shotgun. She didn't let it go as she kept her eyes on the demon, making sure that with any sudden movements on his part she could still – hopefully – raise the shotgun quickly and fire at the demon.

"You're a Potential," Whistler told her, then glanced at John. "Put that down and walk with me."

Buffy hesitated, but something told her Whistler wasn't a threat. She put the shotgun down next to John and looked at him for a little while before raising her head to Whistler.

"What happened to the boy? You didn't make him go to sleep too? Did you?" Buffy questioned and made sure she could quickly pick the shotgun up again, if necessary.

"They'll awake as soon as we leave." Whistler informed her.

Buffy looked over at John, then the end of the alley where the boy had ran disappeared towards. She sighed, knowing she didn't have much choice in the matter. She walked towards Whistler and as they exited the alley asked, "A Potential what?"

"A possible champion. Within you, Buffy, you have the potential to be something more than you are now. To be gifted with power so you can be a champion for the Powers," Whistler explained to her.

"I don't want a life where I have to fight these vampires every night," Buffy immediately replied.

"You could save your world," Whistler informed her.

"And I could die. I would have died in that alley if not for John and his son," Buffy reminded him and maybe herself too.

"Yes, well. They're a remarkable family, huh? The Powers have high hopes for them," Whistler informed her.

"What do you mean?" Buffy questioned.

Whistler smiled but didn't answer her.

"If I do this thing… the thing with me becoming a champion. Will I get Mom and Dad back?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Sorry, kid. Life doesn't work that way. The Powers don't bring people back to life. It disturbs the Balance. Don't worry about them," Whistler answered her.

"But – but why did they leave me all alone?" Buffy asked, tears forming once more.

"They didn't want to. But sometimes these things happen. Death is a part of life. But you're not alone. You're going to be fine living with your aunt," Whistler informed her.

"Celia's mom?" Buffy questioned.

"No, not your father's sister, your mother's sister. Ellen."

"I don't have an Aunt Ellen. Mom doesn't have a sister… at least none that I have ever met," Buffy replied.

Whistler just smiled.

* * *

Review please


	2. Chapter 1 Joyce’s sister

I couldn't have made it what it is without the help of my beta Tanydwr, thank you :D**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1 - Joyce's sister**

_California, Los Angeles, Summers House, February 1991_

Whistler had left Buffy with a number back at her parents'… well, her house. She was nervous, and scared as she looked at the house in front of her. The door was closed. Taking a deep breath and letting it go, Buffy walked towards the house and grabbed the spare key under the mat to open the front door. After she entered the door, she closed it behind her. Buffy panicked for a moment when she saw her mother's body was gone, but a quick replay of her memories allowed her to realize that the black car she had ignored running out must have belonged to the coroner's office. In her haste to leave, she had left the door open for them. And with the Hendrickson there… No one seemed to be here now.

Now, she walked over to phone in its cradle, one of the Hendrickson's must have replaced it in the horn. Buffy stared at it for a long time as she mentally bullied herself into picking it up. She really didn't like the phone anymore. It brought her people who couldn't help Mom and the hospital telling her about her Dad. After checking if it still worked, she started to dial the number Whistler had given her.

The phone rang three times before it was answered by a female voice, "The Roadhouse."

Buffy was silent for a moment thinking of what to say before saying, "I'm looking for Ellen Harvelle."

"Speaking, who's this?" Ellen asked.

"I'm, uh, Buffy… Buffy Summers. Your sister Joyce's daughter," Buffy explained nervously.

"Buffy?" Ellen asked, surprise obvious in her voice. She and Joyce had a rocky relationship. Ellen's parents disapproved of the company Ellen kept, specifically her now husband Bill Harvelle.

"I need you to come here." Buffy's voice brought Ellen out of her memories of her sister.

"I don't think your mother would like that very much," Ellen replied grimacing.

"She's… she isn't here anymore," Buffy replied quietly.

"What do you mean Buffy? Where is your mother?" Ellen asked, confused. She hadn't seen Buffy since she was a few days old. Joyce had called her and she had come over to see her niece.

"She's dead," Buffy whispered softly, barely loud enough for Ellen to hear.

Ellen's world swirled before her, her sister dead? Impossible. No way. She was the one with a Hunter as a husband. If anyone would die it would be she, not her big sister Joyce. It just wasn't possible.

"Are – are you still there?" Buffy question went unanswered until an new voice came through the phone.

"Hello? Who's this?" a man's voice came over the line.

"Uh, Buffy, Buffy Summers," Buffy answered the man. "What happened to Aunt Ellen? Who are you?"

"Aunt El-" the man cut himself off then said, "You're Joyce's daughter. I'm Bill Harvelle, Ellen's husband. What did you say to my wife?"

"That – that my mommy is dead," Buffy said and bit her lip really hard not to start crying again.

After a few seconds of silence, Bill's voice sounded through the phone again. "Buffy, I'm sorry. How are you and your father holding up?"

"D-Daddy's dead too," Buffy informed him, before she began to babble a fuller explanation. "I called him after I found… M-Mom. I called 911 first, but… Daddy told me he was on his way over and not to move. Then the paramedics came and tried to bring… Mom… back… but – but they couldn't. I had to wait for the coroner's office and Daddy still hadn't arrived. Then they called, the Presbyterian Hospital, they told me my daddy died in a car accident, probably on his way over." She decided not to tell him about what happened after, with the vampires, demon and everything.

There was another silence on the other end of the line and then Buffy could hear muffled voices, she wondered if she should continue to wait or just hang up. Her Aunt Ellen's voice came back making the decision for her. "Buffy, sweetie, where are you now?"

"Home," Buffy answered.

"Buffy, we live in Nebraska so it's going to be a couple of hours before I can get there. Is there anyone else with you there?" Ellen asked her niece.

"The – The Hendrickson's were here, but no one else is here now." Buffy replied quietly looking over to the place she found her mother's body and feeling another pang of loss and pain.

The other end was silent but Buffy could hear her aunt saying words her Mommy and Daddy sometimes used in one of their fights.

"Buffy?" Ellen's voice sounded over the phone line again. "I want you to call someone to stay with you. A friend's mom, a neighbor. Just until I can get there."

"That's what the nurse from the hospital said… I'll call someone," Buffy responded.

"Okay, honey, I'll be there as soon as I can. And hey, you can even meet your cousin Joanna, she's five," Ellen informed her attempting to brighten the mood. After a pause she added, "We'll get through this, Buffy."

Buffy, even hundreds of miles away from the woman who was her mother's sister, felt herself hope she would somehow be able to get through this… this feeling of wanting to die to be with her parents and not feel so alone… only she wasn't alone anymore. She had an aunt that was coming for her. That alone helped to make her feel slightly better.

***

_Nebraska, Harvelle's Roadhouse, February 1991_

Ellen Harvelle – a woman who everyone that had even heard of knew not to mess with – was reeling in shock from her big sister Joyce's death. After her husband had taken the phone from her numb hand and spoken to her niece, he had informed her that Buffy had also lost her father and now had no one there for her. Her motherly instincts took over immediately. Buffy was all she had left of a sister whom she had become estranged from, and Buffy had called her for help. She would take care of her niece and together with her husband and daughter, they would get through this.

Looking at her husband, she said, "We need to pack. Buffy's waiting for us."

***

_California, Los Angeles, Summers House, February 1991_

Buffy couldn't remember much after her phone call to Ellen. Apparently she had called Natalie and spoken to her mother who had come over with Natalie and stayed the night with her.

Buffy had not slept well. Her mind simply didn't want to fall asleep afraid she would wake up and still find her parents dead. But somehow she had managed to get some sleep. Though throughout the night, she had woken up from nightmares or Natalie's mom opening her door to check on her.

It wasn't until late that morning that the doorbell woke Buffy up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her alarm clock for the time. She had slept late on a school day? Why didn't her mom wake her? It was then that the memories of the previous day hit her. Buffy stifled a sob trying to escape from her throat, clenching her hands into fists as she tried to get her emotions back under control. Her nails digging into her own hands, the pain she felt from them forcing her other pain away. Taking a couple of deep breath and letting them out, she forced herself to calm down.

She heard a soft knock on her door followed by the voice of Natalie's mom. "Buffy? You awake, honey?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, getting out of bed and walking towards the door which now opened completely.

"Your Aunt Ellen is here with her husband and daughter," Natalie's mom informed her.

"Ok, thanks," Buffy replied, then added, "And, Mrs. Harrison, thanks for staying last night and checking up on me… I… I didn't want to be alone."

Jennifer Harrison gave her a sympathetic smile. "That's what you've got friends for, honey. You ever need anything else, just call, okay?"

Buffy nodded in reply.

"Okay, I'm going home now to see what my husband did to it while I was gone," Jennifer joked. "Natalie is at school. If you need me, I'll be at the house, ok?"

"Okay," Buffy responded, "and thanks again."

"Anytime, sweetheart," Jennifer replied with a warm smile, and left Buffy's room.

Nervous about meeting her aunt, Buffy soon followed Mrs. Harrison down the stairs. She just saw the door close and realized she had already left. Her eyes then fell on a man, woman and little girl.

"H-hi," Buffy greeted, coming all the way down the stairs and standing nervously in front of the family… her family too she realized.

"Hi," her Aunt Ellen repeated her niece's welcome as she studied the ten-year-old blonde in front of her. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you."

"I… I didn't know we met before," Buffy admitted.

"You'd just been born. Joyce called me and I came out here to see you," Aunt Ellen informed her.

"Why didn't you come after that?" Buffy inquired.

"Your mother and I… we didn't have the we just… drifted apart," Aunt Ellen said, her regret showing in her eyes and voice.

"I-I don't know what to do now," Buffy admitted, looking uncomfortable.

"You don't have to do anything. I – _we_ are going to take care of everything," Aunt Ellen promised her.

"Am I going to live with you?" Buffy wanted to know.

Ellen glanced at her husband before looking back at Buffy. "We'll see. I don't know who Joyce appointed custody of you should anything happen to her and her husband."

"I don't know anyone else related to Mom, and Dad's sister doesn't want to be around me after…" Buffy trailed off not wanting to relive the memory of her Cousin Celia dying in her presence.

Jo tugged on her father's sleeve, "Is Buffy my cousin?" the little girl whispered, breaking Buffy from unwanted memories. "Do you want to play with me?"

Buffy looked at the blonde girl, she recalled Aunt Ellen mentioning her to be five years old. "Yeah, I am," Buffy replied.

"I have to make some phone calls," Aunt Ellen said, and walked off to find Joyce's address book and the phone.

"How are you holding up?" her Uncle Bill asked her.

"I honestly don't know how I'm still standing. I don't think I've absorbed everything yet." Buffy told him then admitted, "This morning I woke up worrying I had slept in and wondering why my mom hadn't woke me up."

Bill saw the tears form in her eyes and hugged her to him, but noticed that although the girl hugged him back, she didn't cry.

***

_California, Los Angeles, Graveyard, February 1991_

The last week had been unreal to her. She had gotten to know her Uncle Bill a little. Oddly she found herself unable to spend a prolonged amount of time around him. Her emotions would almost break through her control. Most of her time was spent with her cousin Joanne, or Jo as she preferred to be called. She liked taking care of someone else and taking her mind off her parents' death. Time spent with her Aunt Ellen was the most uncomfortable. It was like the woman wanted or expected something from her that Buffy wasn't sure she could give, now or ever. On the upside of things, at least her Aunt Ellen had made sure that she didn't have to go to school. Apparently the plan was to go to school back in Nebraska.

Everything seemed to have dragged by, but at the same time, it had all gone so fast. Buffy did her best to keep up, but it was a struggle she had to endure every day.

It had been after the funeral that Buffy just stopped. Aunt Ellen had explained that due to some problems with the hospital her father would be buried at a later date, but that the funeral would be for both Joyce and Hank Summers.

"Let's go, Buffy, it's starting to get dark," Ellen informed her with the unspoken message they should leave.

Buffy didn't reply at first, but then said, "I'm not ready." She didn't want to leave her parent's graveside.

"Saying goodbye is hard. But it's something you have to do," Ellen replied.

"I don't want to! I shouldn't have to! It's not fair you're making me!" Buffy yelled at the woman, turning her anger towards her aunt.

Ellen was surprised at first. This was the first time Buffy had shown any emotions, though she shouldn't have been that surprised that her niece finally broke down. The surprise quickly faded, however. "You're only saying goodbye to their graves, Buffy. They're still alive, inside of you. You're your mother and father's legacy."

Buffy's anger faltered. "I… I can't say goodbye. Because when I walk away, then – then they're really gone." she finished in a voice so quiet, Ellen almost couldn't hear her. "And I need them! I need them to be here," Tears started to roll down her cheeks again. "I can't do this alone." The soft whisper of the last sentence nearly escaped Ellen's hearing before she engulfed her niece in a hug.

"You're not alone, Buffy. You'll never be alone. I promise you, I'll always be there for you. So will Bill and Jo," Ellen assured her niece as Buffy hugged her, needing the comfort her aunt was providing, needing to feel like she wasn't alone.

The sounds of a scuffle broke the two apart. Buffy watched Bill fly through the air and land in front of their feet. She then spotted the man responsible. She also soon saw this was not in fact a man but a vampire.

"We've got to go," Buffy cried out, surprising Ellen as she helped Bill get to his feet.

"I – I know I'm gonna sound insane for saying this, but that's a v-vampire. We don't have any weapons to kill the monster, so-so we need to go," Buffy explained quickly with an undeniable urgency in her voice.

"How do you know about vampires?" Ellen demanded, shocked.

"I-I met a few the night… I met some about a – a week ago. This man and a boy helped me and we killed one each…" Buffy stopped, then asked, eyes wide, "Wait, how do you know about vampires?"

"I'm a Hunter," Bill said as he pulled out a handgun.

"I- I thought those didn't work on vampires," Buffy questioned surprised.

"We're going to have a talk later on how you know that. All you need to know right now is that this _will_ hurt them, or at least slow 'em down. Ellen, get her and Jo out of here. I'll hold it off." Buffy ran off before Ellen could lead her away. Ellen grabbed Jo and ran after her as she carried her daughter in her arms.

Ellen found Buffy breaking off a branch from a tree.

"He's gonna need this," Buffy relayed as she noticed her aunt. Ellen hesitated as she looked at Jo. "Go, I'll stay here and watch over Jo."

Ellen took the tree branch and sprinted back towards where she last saw her husband.

Buffy reached towards the tree and broke off another branch. "Just in case another monster shows up near us," she told Jo, who nodded and smiled.

Buffy's eyes scanned the surroundings, the gravestones and quietness making her feel on edge. Jo's question distracted her and she turned towards the little girl.

"Are you a Hunter too, like Daddy? I wanna be a Hunter too when I grow up, but Mommy says I can't," Jo pouted.

_Flashback_

"_A Potential what?" _

"_A possible champion. Within you, Buffy, you have the potential to be something more than you are now. To be gifted with power so you can be a champion for the Powers," Whistler explained to her._

"_I don't want a life where I have to fight these vampires every night," Buffy immediately replied._

"_You could save your world," Whistler informed her._

_End Flashback_

Buffy gripped the rough stake tighter, it might not be the world, but she had a cousin to protect. "That's because it's dangerous. It's much safer to try and lead a normal life," Buffy tried to persuade her from the idea.

"Normal is overrated," a new voice interrupted, causing Buffy to jump and stand between where the voice came from and Jo.

She didn't see him until he was suddenly in front of her. Buffy lunged at the vampire trying to tackle him to the ground but failing the strength and weight to do so. The vampire did stumble back slightly but grabbed her by the arms. Buffy raised her arms as much as she could and clawed at the vampires eyes. In order to protect his eyes, the vampire shoved her away causing Buffy to land painfully on her ass a few feet away.

The vampire stalked towards her and pinned her to the ground. "So you like it rough, huh?" he commented as he moved his face closer to hers. He then sniffed her neck.

"Boys have cooties. Vampires must be worse," Buffy bravely told the vampire off. Hearing a growl from the vampire on top of her she decided she wanted it to end quickly, hopefully buying enough time for him to forget about her cousin so she would be able to get safely away. "Not to mention, really should have some sense in how to dress oneself. I mean really? What's with that shirt, and don't even get me started on those shoes."

The vampire ripped her shirt apart, saying, "I think I'm gonna have some fun with you before I kill you."

The vampire sucked on her neck and Buffy felt physically sick as she desperately tried to break free from his grip. "Hold still, will ya?" the vampire scowled, raising his head and looking her in the eyes.

Buffy screamed as hard as she could, It didn't seem to have any effect since no one was coming to her rescue this time. She helplessly watched the amber eyes of the monster on top of her, and, knowing that this was going to hurt, Buffy thrust her head forwards as hard as she could. Her forehead connected sharply with the vampire's nose. It hurt a lot, and she saw stars, but she forced herself to move, squirming out from under the vampire. He was swearing savagely, but his own pain had caused him to break the steel grip he had been holding her with.

Buffy tried to shake off dizziness. Successful, she grabbed her previously dropped tree-branch before she got back on her feet.

"You should really consider taking better care of your personal hygiene. Breath mints, for example," Buffy managed to quip aside from the paralyzing fear she felt towards this monster. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jo still standing there watching, apparently conflicted in helping and running for help from her parents.

"Stay there, Jo!" Buffy ordered, and then looked back to see the vampire advancing on her. Buffy remembered her Mom once brought her with her to a self defense class. She had observed mostly but her Mom had allowed the instructor to show her one move.

Praying to God this would work while at the same time cursing the Powers That Be Whistler mentioned Buffy let herself fall on her back as she used the vampire's own strength and momentum against him.

She sent him crashing into the tree. Running over to him, she moved to plunge the tree-branch in the vampire's heart only to have the vampire grab the arm with the tree-branch and squeeze it hard, making her drop her makeshift weapon with a cry.

Buffy used her free arm to try and break the vampire's grip on her arm, but the vampire seized that arm too. He grinned, and then Buffy grinned and used the grip he had on both her arms to lift herself up into a handstand, she had learned just last month in gymnastics and since then perfected, before coming down with on foot on the ground and the other in the vampire's groin. The vampire gasped, trying to catch a breath he didn't need in order to alleviate the pain he felt in his lower regions. Buffy was thrown away before the vampire moved his hands towards his groin, clutching it in pain.

Buffy dragged herself to her feet and watched the vampire still clutching his family jewels in pain. She grabbed Jo and screamed out of breath and in pain, "Let's go before he recovers."

As Buffy and Jo ran, Buffy limping slightly while trying her best to run along, they noticed two figures approaching. "Crap!" Buffy cursed then looked back to see the vampire now recovered was running towards them. "Run and hide Jo. Don't come out until either your parents or I call for you," Buffy commanded before turning back to the vampire running at her and wiped the stray strands of blond hair from her face. Weakly, she held her hands up in a fighting stance she had seen somewhere on TV.

"Let's go, perv," Buffy called out with more bravado than she felt as the vampire stopped running and slowly approached her, growling lightly.

As the vampire and Buffy fought each other, Buffy mainly focused on trying to evade the vampire's punches and further injury, but barely succeeded in keeping herself from not getting killed during each blow.

Then the vampire was thrown backwards, but not by Buffy's doing. Confused, she tried to make her eyes work better in the darkness. She saw the vampire lying on its back before it turned into dust.

Only then Buffy saw that a dark figure near where the vampire was in fact her Aunt Ellen. Her aunt dropped something, probably her stake, before running over to her and embracing her fiercely. Looking around, Buffy's eyes fell onto Jo clutching her father's leg.

Buffy let out a relieved breath knowing her cousin was safe, she suddenly felt very tired now that the adrenaline supply her heart had been pumping through her veins, had dropped.

"God, Buffy. Never do that again, you hear! You are not allowed to hunt!" Ellen commanded sternly as she pulled back, then clutched Buffy back into her embrace once more. "I just lost my sister; I don't want to lose you too… but thank you for protecting Jo."

"Are you girl both alright?" Uncle Bill questioned.

"Jo?" Buffy inquired immediately.

"I'm okay." Jo replied.

"Then so am I." Buffy let out with an exhausted breath.

***

_Nebraska, Harvelle's Roadhouse, February 1991_

Buffy Anne Summers looked at the place in front of her and cringed inwardly. She would have to live here with her Aunt Ellen, Uncle Bill and Cousin Jo. She wondered how far away the closest Neiman Marcus was.

Soon after the ordeal at the graveyard, Ellen had grilled Buffy about her vampire attack. Both in the alley and what had happened when she went to help Bill at the graveyard.

Buffy had answered her questions, keeping some things from her answers. Like the identity of the Hunters whom had saved her in the alley. She figured they must be Hunters, if they knew about vampires and killed them saving other people. She didn't want her aunt hunting them down and beating them to a pulp for not making Buffy leave the alley, so she would be safely away from the vampire. Even though they had saved her life, she doubted her aunt would see it that way. Maybe eventually, but she didn't want to go through all the yelling.

Buffy also kept her conversation with Whistler to herself. Knowing from Jo that Ellen hated the idea of her daughter being in danger. She guessed that her aunt would hate her being in danger as well.

Buffy also left out the part where she was told she could be chosen as a Champion. She knew that was something that would not go over well with her aunt, and the last thing she wanted to do is to be even more of a burden then she already felt. It wasn't like the fact that she could be trusted in this world with monsters and dangerous fight went over well with her either.

Though Buffy had to admit it felt really good when Bill had told her how proud her parents would be if they had seen her fight against the vampire the way she did, horrified, but proud. He also said he was proud too, and if she wanted he'd teach her self-defense in case she ever came across more vampires, although Ellen had been against that

The long winded argument those two had made Buffy miss her parents fight, funny how you miss things you used to hate hearing. Buffy mused. Bill had won the argument by suggesting Buffy, and later Jo, would need to know self defense because of what goes on in young men's heads nowadays. Ellen didn't doubt both Jo and Buffy would turn out to grow into beautiful young ladies, and thus conceded.

***

_Nebraska, Harvelle's Roadhouse, November 1991_

Buffy had been with the Harvelle's for about nine and a half months. And although she still had nightmares every now and then, she was doing slightly better. It had taken months of nagging and coming up with good arguments before Ellen had finally allowed Buffy to be trained. Buffy had actually squealed and hugged her aunt.

Buffy was coming around to her new lifestyle, she had Uncle Bill and even Aunt Ellen drive her to a decent mall every couple of weeks to keep up with fashion as well as rubbing her taste in fashion and looking good off unto Jo. It wasn't really to show off her body or anything like that. It just reminded Buffy of times her Mom took her shopping.

Buffy found herself liking training with Bill and sometimes Ellen. Bill had even showed her how to use a gun before Ellen had found out and yelled at both of them for a good thirty minutes. Because her Aunt Ellen had forbidden Bill to teach Buffy more about shooting guns, Buffy had him teaching her about using more medieval type weapons, swords, quarterstaffs and such.

It wasn't really that Ellen didn't want Buffy to learn how to use a gun eventually, it just that she was ten and therefore not be allowed to handle a gun of any kind until she was at least fourteen years old.

Still learning how to handle medieval type weapons was an tiring, but exhilarating experience for her. One she knew she never would have followed if she had still been living with her parents. The only problem was that when she looked at it like that, guilt for doing things making her happy was difficult to get through.

Buffy needed to remind herself of what Ellen told her, that her parents lived on in her, and they wouldn't want her to feel guilty but be happy. Still, it was hard to look at it that way. And, despite being accepted by Ellen, Bill and Jo as part of the family, she still missed talking to her mother and being spoiled rotten by her father. What she missed the most about them were little things, like how her mom washed things in a certain order, or put things differently than where Aunt Ellen put them, or how her father would take her to the ice show every year. She was doing better, the times the guilt hit was becoming less, and what used to be every day was now maybe every two or three weeks. The parent missage, as Buffy put it, had lessened… Buffy had figured out, keeping small traditions they used to do as a family alive, helped.

"Aunt Ellen, can you take Jo and me to the movies?" Buffy inquired.

"Sure Buffy, what movie do you want to see?"

"Either _Hook_ or _Robin Hood_, not sure yet, where do you want to go to Jo?" Buffy wanted to know.

"The one with the better fight scenes," Jo replied enthusiastically, earning an eye roll from her mother.

"Well since Peter Pan flies, those fight scenes are not as realistic as the ones in _Robin Hood_," Buffy answered.

"Robin Hood then," Jo conceded.

"Fine by me. Get your jacket, kiddo," Buffy told her. One thing Buffy did hate was how cold Nebraska could get. She missed the warm winter days in California. But it was kinda fun to see actual snow and to see Jo play around in it. Not to mention she could snowball Bill and other Hunters into oblivion. Buffy of course had asked Ellen to be on her team when her aunt had come out to see what was going on. Together with Jo, the men never stood a chance.

* * *

Review please


	3. Chapter 2 The Watcher’s Council

Many thanks to my beta Tandwr, couldn't have done it without you!**

* * *

**

**Chapter 2 - The Watcher's Council**

_Nebraska, Harvelle's Roadhouse, January 1992_

"She's been moody lately," Bill remarked to his wife.

"Buffy? Yeah I guess so. Her birthday is coming up," Ellen replied.

"Her first birthday without her parents," Bill recalled as understanding began to dawn.

"She was talking about the ice-show her dad used to take her to on her birthday," Jo informed them as she brushed by her parents towards Buffy's room to raid her closet for a particular sweater that she wanted.

"Maybe you should take Buffy there," Ellen suggested.

"Take me where? Jo, that had better not be my sweater. Last time you borrowed something of mine someone crashed into you and it reeked of beer no matter how many times I washed it," Buffy scolded her cousin. Sometimes she hated how short she was and that her and Jo were almost the same size. It was unnatural for Jo to be that tall at that age.

"The ice show and I promise I'll be careful. Besides you know it was that guy's fault for crashing into me and spilling his beer all over me." Jo tried to persuade her into letting her borrow the sweater.

"Ice show?" Buffy inquired, stunned, but hopeful. She looked at Bill then Jo than back at Bill "You want to take me there?"

"If you want to," Bill replied.

Buffy brightened and hugged her uncle tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love the ice show."

Bill chuckled. "It'll be my pleasure to take you."

"You're the _best_."

"You betcha," Bill replied, smiling.

"He's also full of himself," Buffy informed her aunt, both females chuckling at Bill's indignant "Hey!"

"I don't know how you put up with him," Buffy continued.

"Well, he makes up for most of what he lacks in the bedroom," Ellen replied jokingly, well half-jokingly.

"Eww, gross. Boys are icky." Buffy stated, only to see the two of them lip-locked, She quickly turned around and ran to her room.

***

_Nebraska, woods near Harvelle's Roadhouse, January 1992_

Walking slowly through the woods, Buffy carefully observed her surroundings. Then she jumped back.

The something had jumped in front of her was big, with horns, a reddish color and looked really demonic. Swallowing back a sudden lump in her throat, Buffy forced her fear down and ducked to avoid a swipe from the demon thing in front of her.

The demon growled and said something in a tongue she didn't understand. Instead she took out a gun she had 'borrowed' from her uncle and emptied the clip into the demon. The demon staggered back but was otherwise barely affected by the bullets.

"That's not good!" Buffy exclaimed, quickly putting the gun away and taking out a knife. The demon only seemed pissed at her now. As it stormed at her Buffy rolled out of the way and plunged the knife in the back of the demons leg.

A howl of pain came from the demon, but before Buffy could retrieve her knife she felt something hard impact against her. The demon's fist made her small body fly backwards until her back painfully crashed into a tree.

Buffy let out a cry of pain and tried to force her body back to its feet and from the ground. She felt the demon's hand lift her off the ground and hold her against a tree by the neck. It growled and spoke something in a foreign tongue once more, before it jabbed its fist towards her. The demon stopped abruptly.

The demon dropped Buffy and she fell on her knees. Wincing in pain she bit her lip from screaming out in pain and fear. This had been a dumb idea.

Buffy saw the demon a couple of paces away from her. The handle of her knife was sticking out from the side of the demon's head. The demon then fell back and lay still on its back.

Buffy continued to stare at it, not moving at first. She then took her first knife out of the demon's leg and with both hands plunged it through the demons heart, knowing from conversation overheard at the Roadhouse, that sometimes it took more to take out a demon.

Starring at the dead monster or well demon, she corrected herself, she waited for it to do something. Nothing happened and after a good three minutes Buffy pulled her knife from its heart, then the other from its head wincing at the goo and smell. Taking out a few tissues from her jacket she began to clean her knife before putting them away on her person.

"That was impressive," a voice suddenly broke the silence and Buffy spun her head around to see a man in a tweed standing there looking at her.

"Wh- who are you?" Buffy demanded to know, her stance going on a defensive one. Her voice and stammer already having betrayed her fear.

"Isn't it more important to know who you are?" the man answered cryptically.

A girl jumped out behind her scaring the crap out of Buffy. In reflex she had one knife out and moved to slash the girl. What scared Buffy even more is that the Mexican girl easily blocked her instinctive move and twisted her arm making her cry out in pain and drop her knife.

"Slayer. Let go of the new young Potential," the man ordered. Buffy was surprised when she was immediately released by the other girl, not much older than her.

Buffy rubbed her sore arm before asking, "Who are you people?"

"We're here to give you your destiny. You know about demons from the looks of it," the man answered as he walked closer towards the dead demon. "A Fyral demon, although from the looks of it, seems like its still young, probably not even thirteen yet. The knife you used was made out of silver?"

"Yeah, silver works better on demons," Buffy replied then started to ask again who they were. She didn't make it past the first word because the man answered.

"I'm a Watcher. This here is the Slayer. Into each generation a girl is born, a Chosen One. She alone will wield the strength and skill needed to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness, stopping the swell of their numbers and the spread of their evil. She is the Slayer," the man claiming to be a Watcher informed her.

_Flashback_

"_A Potential what?" _

"_A possible champion. Within you, Buffy, you have the potential to be something more than you are now. To be gifted with power so you can be a champion for the Powers," Whistler explained to her._

"_I don't want a life where I have to fight these vampires every night," Buffy immediately replied._

"_You could save your world," Whistler informed her._

_End flashback_

Buffy paled as words Whistler had spoken to her almost a year ago came back to her.

Looking towards the Mexican girl Buffy spoke, "You- you're this Slayer, a- aren't you? A champion for the Powers That Be."

"You know about the Powers that Be?" the Watcher inquired, interested.

Still pale and in shock of what this could mean Buffy managed to nod. She barely paid him attention as her gaze was solemnly on the girl in front of her. "H- how does a Slayer receive her powers?" she asked.

"When one Slayer dies, another is Called," the Watcher informed her as he studied the girl curiously.

"So she w- will d-die when… I…" Buffy trailed off unable to finish the sentence. She didn't want this girl to die. She didn't want to be the next Slayer.

"I'm curious, how do you know you are a Potential? Did another Watcher approach you before myself?" the watcher wanted to know from her.

Buffy shook her head, "No, a m- messenger from the Powers That Be told me."

The Slayer had stood silent waiting for her Watcher to give her new orders, but now she was now observing the girl in front of her who could very well be her successor.

"Interesting," the Watcher remarked and after a minute he continued, "Just because you're a Potential does not mean you will be next one Chosen as the Slayer. Right now in the world, there are many Potentials. Some are already being trained by the Council, others have yet to be found. Not every Potential we train is Chosen as the next Slayer. Some Potentials go through their training never being called."

The Watcher studied her closely before continuing, "Since you said you were visited by this messenger, the chances of you being called are higher than most Potential Slayers. You'll be coming with us until the Council sends someone to retrieve you."

"W- what? I- I'm not going anywhere with you. I have family here!" Buffy protested. "I'm even going to the Ice Show with my Uncle Bill tomorrow."

"You are out of line speaking to my Watcher like that," the Mexican Slayer instructed her.

"A-and you are out of line wanting to take me from my home, my family!" Buffy cried out backing away from them.

"You should be honored that you could be the next Chosen One. You may have a sacred destiny," the Slayer informed her.

"I don't want it!" Buffy cried out, "I may I like training, but I also like shopping and breathing."

"I'm afraid you'll have little choice in the matter. You need to be trained and supervised by the Council," the Watcher instructed, dismissing the brave words of the little girl.

"S-screw your Council! I can train with my Uncle Bill. He's a Hunter," Buffy shouted at them. Hoping the information about her Uncle would revise their opinion of taking her from her family.

"A Hunter? Interesting. However, this doesn't change anything. Your _uncle_, without a doubt knows next to nothing about the Slayer or has the resources on various demons and other dark forces that the Council has." The Watcher scorned Hunters in comparing them to the Council.

Buffy glared at the watcher anger at the insult of her Uncle Bill overcoming her fear, "Don't belittle my uncle, assface! Do you even fight demons or do you hide behind the Slayer?"

"I'm a Watcher, I do not fight demons. That's the Slayer's job. A Watcher's job is to train her, to prepare her for what she is to face," the Watcher informed her.

"In other words you train her, but then send her out alone to fight while you maybe observe, criticize her while drinking some tea!" Buffy spat out in anger and disgust. Her Uncle Bill and Aunt Ellen would never let her go out on a Hunt alone. Hell, her Aunt Ellen would never let her hunt, period. She was sure in for a yelling lecture if she ever got back home, birthday or not. "Coward! Just because you don't have any special powers is no reason to sit on your ass while letting someone else fight for you."

"Do not disrespect my Watcher," the Slayer told her.

"Why not? It's true." Buffy bit out angrily before bending down and picking up the knife she dropped earlier. She put the knife back in its hiding place and started to walk off, having had enough and hoping they would just leave her alone. 'They couldn't be that bad and attack her, an eleven-year-old girl… could they?'

"Stop her please. Quentin is going to love this one's spunk," the Watcher ordered his charge.

Buffy barely had time to react as the Slayer began to move towards her. She quickly pulled out her gun an aimed it at the Slayer. "Stop right there!" she ordered surprising both Watcher and Slayer. 'They actually attacked me? How am I going to get out of this? I so stupid, I should never have left home. Berate yourself later, think escape plan now.' The last thought sounded like voice her Uncle Bill's voice.

"We do not use guns. I should expect nothing less from someone trained by a Hunter," the Watcher disparaged the girl's uncle's profession as a Hunter again.

Before Buffy could do or say anything, the Slayer had disarmed her. Buffy managed to duck and so avoid one punch from the Slayer who then swiped her legs out from under her. The back of Buffy's head hit something hard and the world turned black.

***

_England, London, Watchers Council's headquarters, February 1992_

Buffy sulked in the corner of her room. A month. She had been here about a month. She hated herself for having gone out that night, she just hadn't been able to stop herself. She had to go out and kill something, get the pent up frustration, anger, guilt, all of it out of her system. She heard Aunt Ellen tell some Hunters about a demon in the woods nearby.

After 'borrowing' some equipment from a place she knew her uncle kept some, she then feigned tiredness and had gone to bed early, only to proceed with her plan and went out of the window in her room and heading towards the woods.

Looking back now, she really regretted it. Yes somehow, she had managed to kill the demon and relieved some anger. Still she almost got killed again. She really should never have gone out. Then she'd still be in Nebraska at the Roadhouse, playing with Jo. Instead she had been found by the current Slayer and her Watcher, killing a demon. She had tried to escape, but ended up fighting the Slayer and losing, embarrassingly.

She had woken up in a bed, feeling tired. That was when she learned from a female Watcher who had been watching over her that she was in England at the Council's headquarters. She had been unconscious and kept unconscious for a few weeks to prevent her attempts at escape.

The real pain she felt now was not for herself, no. She worried about her cousin Jo, her Aunt Ellen and Uncle Bill. How would they see her disappearance? Would they think she ran away?

***

_Nebraska, woods near Harvelle's Roadhouse, January 1992_

Waking up that morning with your daughter's distraught screaming something about cousin Buffy not being in her bed nor anywhere in the Roadhouse, was not something Ellen had expected when she woke up that morning. Quick thinking and a short interrogation of her daughter had revealed no new information except that none of them had heard anything from Buffy since her saying she was going to bed early the previous day.

After getting dressed quickly she and Bill were about to search places Buffy liked to hang out outside of the Roadhouse when Bill received a call from John Winchester telling him that they found the demon Bill was talking about the day before and that it was already dead and half buried in the woods. Near the place of the dead demon, a gun had been found.

After John had described the gun Bill had checked in vain hope hoping it was not his gun. No such luck since not only his gun but two of his knives were also missing. Ellen's composure had flown out of the window and she was frantic with worry, and therefore being the one everyone tried to avoid.

What if Buffy was out there somewhere bleeding to death, or already dead? In the end she was forced to stay at the Roadhouse sitting by the phone since Buffy might call. All the while hoping Bill would call soon telling her Buffy was alright but had just gotten lost on her way back. Those thoughts ran through Ellen's head as she sat by the phone anxiously.

Arriving at the scene John showed them the place he found the gun and the demon's body.

"It looks like she killed the demon. You said she was ten?" John inquired of his fellow Hunter and friend Bill.

"Eleven today," Bill answered quietly.

John whistled, "Not bad for a girl. She'll make a fine Hunter someday."

"Not if Ellen can help it. Let's first find out if she's even still alive," Bill reminded him of his wife's feelings against hunting while trying to suppress his own worries about his niece.

"I don't see any blood around," John remarked. "Maybe she got lost on her way back."

"I hope so," Bill replied looking at the trees in front of them, hoping to see his niece somewhere between them.

"It looks like there were two others around. See those footprints?" John pointed them out.

Bill kneeled at one point, "It looks like she fought one of them here."

"Over here," John called and Bill hurried towards the other Hunter. "It looks like she fell here. And notice that the smaller footprints from here on gets deeper. Like someone is carrying extra weight.

"She's been kidnapped," Bill realized.

"Whoever was after her, wanted her for something. You piss anyone off lately?" John inquired.

"No more than usual," Bill answered.

"I'll make a few calls. See if anyone knows something," John offered.

"Thanks. I should make some calls on my own," Bill replied.

"We'll find her, one way or the other," John assured him.

Bill nodded knowing that John was right. He also knew what was out there in the world. He just hoped that when they would find his niece. She would be alright.

John nodded, knowing how worried his friend might be. He'd be the same if something like this had happened to one of his boys.

***

_England, London, Watchers Council's headquarters, February 1992_

It is a wonder what a couple of hours of being alone with your thoughts can do to a person. When she was taken to meet with the head of the Watchers' Council, her fear at long since dissipated by her anger at what these men had done. They had taken her from her family, her home.

"Ah, Miss Summers. How quaint it is to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," the oldest looking man in the room spoke to her.

"I wish I could say the same, but all I know about you so far is that you're in the business of kidnapping young girls from their homes and force them to fight evil while your people watch and drink tea," Buffy snapped at the man clenching her tiny fists.

"What a colorful girl," the old man replied.

"The fate of the world is at stake. We Watchers do what we can to prepare our charges to keep the world from ending," another man spoke to her.

Buffy turned to the other man. "How nice for you. You must feel so big to sent little girls to do the fighting, while you barely do anything."

"We train them, the Slayers, the potential Slayers. The Slayer will eventual fall in battle. What would happen is the Watchers joined her. Then there would be no one left to train and prepare the girl called after her," the head of the Watcher's Council informed her.

"Quentin is right Miss Summers. No matter how good a Slayer may be, she will eventually fall in battle. If we were to die with her, who would be left to support the Slayer called after her?" the man next to Quentin enlightened her.

"She still shouldn't have to fight alone," Buffy insisted, "and it still doesn't give you people the right to kidnap people and separate them from their family!"

"Emotional connections weaken the Slayer," Quentin informed her. "It looks like you'll have your hands full with this one Merrick."

"W- what does that mean?" Buffy wanted to know.

"It means that I'm your new Watcher," Merrick informed her.

"I don't want a Watcher! I want to go home!" Buffy cried out letting them show the scared eleven year old under all the anger and bravery she had shown previously.

"The Watchers' Council has agents who can be persuaded to go back to your home and take out your family if you continue to resist us," Quentin threatened her with a cold and determined look in his eyes.

"You wouldn't…" Buffy began the fear creeping into her heart at the thought of the remainder of her family hurt or killed because of her. She already killed her Daddy, and couldn't save her Mommy.

"I would. As it is you uncle and another hunter are creating some trouble in their search for you. It would be very easy for me to make one call and have them taken out," Quentin enlightened her.

"Why!?" Buffy cried. "Because my family c- cares for m- me, they should d- die? You're supposed to be the good guys!"

"Hard measures must be taken to secure the safety of the world. If you are indeed to be the next slayer, you must be able to put the safety of the world above all else. You need the training Merrick is going to put you through to survive," Quentin explained to her.

"Y- you think t-taking out my family connection is going to make me chose the w-world over anything else? Why would I save the world then?" Buffy thought back to the day her parents died. She wanted to die too, having thought she lost everything. She had nothing to live for, not until her aunt, uncle and cousin took her into their home and family. "What c-connection do I have to i-it if not family and friends? You keeping me from making connection to the world is what is going to someday end this world!" Buffy shouted at him. Not understanding their reasoning at all. Then she figured something, if the Slayer had nothing but the Council… "Because w-without a connection to anything else, all the Slayer has is the Council. And she'd be that much easier to control."

"Very good, Miss Summers. It seems you have a head above those shoulders of you. Now we can do this one of two ways. One is I make a phone call to some people who will take out your uncle and his fellow Hunter. Two is I make a phone call to a coven of witches I know and have them summon a shifter which we'll make taking your form before we kill it and have the Hunters find. Thinking you are dead will make them stop searching for you," Quentin informed her.

Buffy looked at the man, no monster, in horror and fear. Part of her knew that right now she could not escape. If she was going to escape she would have to wait for the right opportunity.

"Well? What's it going to be, Miss Summers? Are you going to cooperate with us or do I have to make you cooperate?" Quentin inquired.

She couldn't put her family at risk because of her. "I'll cooperate."

"Good girl," Quentin smiled.

"Come one Miss Summers, I'd like to see how far along you are with your training, none of the other Potentials has ever been trained by a Hunter before," Merrick requested.

"Yes sir," Buffy replied, obediently.

***

_America, California, Los Angeles, February 1992_

"Ellen, I just got word from Bobby, he found Buffy's body," Bill informed her softly, not quite believing the news himself.

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Review please


	4. Chapter 3 Not a Slayer

Many thanks to my beta Tandwr, couldn't have done it without you!**

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**Chapter 3 - Not a slayer**

_England, London, Watchers Council's headquarters, April, 1993_

A large group – primarily made up of middle-aged men in tweed, although there were a few younger men and two women present – filed eagerly into the conference room. The men and women took their seats at a large wooden table and faced the older, tweed-suited man at the head.

A younger man, also in tweed, with dark hair and glasses, rushed into the conference room quickly pouring tea into cups and placing them in front of the members. "Thank you, Wesley," Quentin Travers spoke and the young man gave the older man a nod before leaving the room.

Quentin cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "We're gathered here today to discuss the situation surrounding one of our Potentials, Miss Summers."

"That girl is out of control," an older Watcher exclaimed. "She was mouthing off to her Watcher, running in the hallways, and the language…"

"I agree with Mr. Wyndham-Pryce," a female Watcher, Miss Mann, announced. "The foul language and bad manners are typical for an American. But her constant angry behavior… Are you sure the girl is from California and not New York?"

"Her file states she lived above a bar called the Harvelle'sRoadhouse," the other woman stipulated, the disapproval of a child living above a bar obvious in her tone of voice.

"A bar." Miss Mann's nose wrinkled. "Americans these days.

"I admit Buffy can be a bit stubborn and impulsive but she shows a natural talent when she trains," Merrick informed.

"Which she uses to try and escape the premises," Mr. Wyndham-Pryce stated.

"Gentlemen, please," Quentin reclaimed their attention. "Whilst Miss Summers maybe the cause of some trouble, she may very well be the next Chosen One. We need to be patient and eventually she'll realize that all she has is us, thus stopping her misbehavior."

"Are you so sure she will be the next one Called?" Miss Mann wanted to know.

"She was visited by a messenger of the Powers That Be, none of our other Potentials has had such an experience," a male Watcher, Thomas Thorne, reminded the others.

"With all due respect to Thomas, we only have the girl's word on that," Miss Mann spoke up.

"Buffy wouldn't lie," Merrick jumped in.

"You are calling her by her first name Merrick?" Miss Mann inquired.

"She insisted… but as much as my charge tries my patience, she has been well raised, by both her parents and her aunt and uncle," Merrick answered.

"Her aunt and uncle are Hunters, hardly good parents. I heard Miss Summers even carried a gun when she was picked up," the other female Watcher, Alice Cambridge, reminded the others.

"As I recall, Bill and Ellen Harvelle are quite excellent Hunters, who stepped up and cared for Buffy when she had no one else," Merrick defended his charge's family.

"Merrick, you must not let yourself become too close to your charge," Roger Wyndham-Pryce lectured the other Watcher.

"She's not your charge, Roger. I am her Watcher. And I won't have her turn out like your son. I may not be Buffy's father, but she needs someone to care about her, to form a bond with in order to try her best. She fights for others, not herself," Merrick replied.

"Merrick is right Roger," Quentin stated. "As he forms a bond with her, she will come to depend on him, and though we disapprove of a Watcher becoming too close with their charges, in this case it may be prudent. Miss Summers will have no one aside from her Watcher and will therefore listen to him. Which is how we will control her."

"I do not approve of these tactics," Miss Mann let the others know. "The girl should be disciplined until she listens, not be given leeway… and to lower ourselves to such manipulation…."

"Miss Mann, should Miss Summers be Called as the next Slayer, we need her to be on our side. And not have her resent us by having us disciplining her," Quentin replied.

"Buffy needs time to adjust to her new life. I have no doubt that she will become an exemplary Slayer," Merrick stated.

"Yes, well we will have to wait and see," Quentin commented, not quite convinced. "Now, let us turn to the next point of our agenda…"

***

_England, London, Council Headquarters, Merrick's room, June 24, 1993_

"Did you hear the news, Merrick? I'm not the next one Called, to be the Slayer." Buffy sprang out happy she seemed to have been spared from becoming the slayer for some reason.

"Ah, yes. It would seem so," Merrick answered.

"You're not happy for me?" Buffy questioned, her happy mood falling slightly.

Merrick gave her a small smile, "Of course I am, Buffy."

"Then what?"

"Another Slayer died, another was called. One that might not be as prepared for her Calling as you are. Whether you'll admit it to yourself or not," Merrick shared with her.

Her good mood gone now as she now saw the bigger picture of the news another Potential, Gabriella, had shared with her. They and a Chinese Potential Slayer called Ying-Fa, were the only three Potential Slayers being trained at the Council Headquarters. Gabriella was older than her by a year and the Italian girl had a knack for gossiping.

The three of them had banded together once Buffy realized escaping would not be possible and she needed to learn more about her 'enemy' before making another attempt. As Merrick often told her, knowledge was power. And Buffy was learning… not just demon lore, fighting techniques, tactics and strategy either. Merrick was also trying to teach her Latin, while Gabriella and Ying-Fa taught each other Cantonese, Italian and better English since Ying-Fa was having trouble in that department. It wasn't like any of them were experts in the languages, but together they seemed to get basics… and were improving altogether, slowly.

"Just because you haven't been called as the new Slayer now, won't mean you won't be called as one in the future. There are records of a Slayer being called as old as nineteen," Merrick continued.

"So I'm supposed to what? Stay here for the next seven or eight years?" Buffy questioned, frustrated.

"That is up to the Council," Merrick answered.

"But I've heard of Potentials being trained in their own country," Buffy complained.

Merrick watches her carefully as he starts to reply, "Yes, this is true. However, these are Potentials Slayers found young and given freely to the Council."

"So there is no hope? No hope that I –" she stopped herself and then continued, "I can't ever go back?"

Unable to crush the girl's hopes completely, Merrick gave her an unsure smile. "It is unlikely, but not impossible. If you continue to do your duty and work hard to earn the Council's trust they might consider your request. But there are no guarantees."

***

_England, , Council Headquarters, January 1994_

"No way, Gab. Are you serious?" Buffy inquired, unable to believe the information her friend and fellow Potential Slayer just told her as she was handed an old diary meant for her thirteenth birthday.

Gabriella nodded excitedly, "Oh yes, according this she was in love with him and he with her."

Buffy opened the old diary halfway, still not believing the other Potential Slayer and started to read it for herself, speaking the Latin words out loud as she did so. Halfway through the paragraph she made a face and passed the Watcher Diary to Ying-Fa.

"That is just so gross. I can't even think of how that would look. If Merrick…" she trailed off looking sick now.

"Well he'd have to be a young Watcher. Like Wesley." Gabriella licked her lips. It was no secret amongst the three that Gabriella had a crush on Wesley.

"Wesley no Watcher, only trainee" Ying-Fa reminded her as she gave the diary back to Buffy.

"It's only a matter of time," Gabriella stated with full confidence.

"Another stuffy Watcher…" Buffy started but trailed off when the lights flickered and went out putting the room on darkness, only the moon providing some light.

"A black-out? I never had one here. Have you guys?" Buffy inquired.

"No, but this place has its own generator that should have kicked in by now," Gabriella reminded the other two.

"Are we under attack?" Ying-Fa asked Gabriella just before a scream could be heard.

"I'd that that as a yes," Buffy answered and the three of them went in different directions of the room, each taking something to defend themselves.

Gabriella took a poker from the fireplace, Ying-Fa broke a chair and tossed each girl a leg for a makeshift stake and Buffy tossed her one of those hammer things used to play cricket back, stuffing the stake in the back of her PJ's pants and taking a silver knife from her slipper, then taking her slippers off for better mobility.

"Should we stay or go?" Ying-Fa wanted to know from the other two.

"Stay," Gabriella answered at the same time as Buffy did with "Go."

"We don't know how many there are, who or what is attacking or if there even is an attack. The best course of action is to stay here and make this place defensible," Gabriella elaborated on her decision to stay here.

"But there could be trouble out there, if we stay here we won't know what is going on. We'd just be sitting ducks for them to storm in and take us by surprise," Buffy argued.

"Whatever we going to do, we do it now," Ying-Fa instructed them.

Gabriella and Buffy looked at her then each other, "Fine, you're the birthday girl. We'll do as you say, just stay close to me."

Just as the three headed for the door, the door busted open and an ugly demon stood smiling at the three girls. A moment later, the demon intercepted the poker Gabriella tried to drive through the demon. With the demon distracted, Buffy moved to plunge the knife into the demon's flesh. Its tough scales withstood her trying to knife through them and she quickly dropped herself to the ground, narrowly avoiding the demon grabbing her. As she did, Ying-Fa clobbered the demon's abdomen with the cricket hammer making it take a step back. As its attention turned to Ying-Fa, Buffy was up on her feet and sprang at the scaly back of the demon, using her legs to reaming there as she grabbed the knife with two hands and plunged it down with all her strength into the demon's neck.

The demon screeched, grabbing Buffy by her leg and pulling her off its back and was about to slash its claw through her when a poker slammed against its legs and made the demon turn its attention to Gabriella who smiled slightly at it and moved to strike the demon with the poker again only to watch as a stake thrown by Ying-Fa was now sticking out of the demon's eye.

Buffy swung her body forwards so she was higher and able to take hold of the stake. Grabbing it, she pushed it further in, making the demon drop her as it again screeched out in pain.

Gabriella quickly helped Buffy to her feet as Ying-Fa slammed the cricket hammer into the demon's abdomen again.

Grabbing her own stake, Gabriella stood still, breathing heavily as adrenaline pumped though her.

The demon stayed still on the ground, breathing heavily. Buffy walked closer to it ignoring Gabriella's warning as she knelt down beside it and yanked her knife out of the back of its neck. Holding it in front of the demon's one good eye she spoke, "How many?"

The demon seemed to try and stare her away or something, which wasn't the answer Buffy was looking for. Taking hold of the knife with both hands she plunged it through the demon's arm laying on the ground. The demon screeched out in pain.

"I do not like to repeat myself," Buffy informed him.

"I will tell you nothing," the demon wheezed out.

"Okay, make this hard on a gal." Buffy twisted the knife making the demon scream out once more. "Any of you know what kind of demon this is and where its sensitive or precious parts are?" she questioned her fellow Potential Slayers.

"I don't know, some kind of reptilian demon?" Gabriella guessed. "Does it matter, let's just kill him and see for ourselves what else is out there."

"Get your poker and hold in the fire, we'll get it to talk," Buffy ordered.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at the change in the younger Potential, but did as she was 'ordered' none the less.

The demon's other hand shot out towards Buffy who yanked her knife out of the demon's arm before she force of the demon's hand threw her away from it. "Don't kill it!" Buffy instructed Ying-Fa, who was about to hit it with the cricket hammer again. She stopped and instead kicked the demon with her foot, making it fall down unto its back with its arms at the ground again.

Gabriella returned with the glowing hot poker and smiled at the demon. "Please tell me you're not going to talk," she pleaded with the demon who was eying the poker with its one good eye.

"Just be careful some of its gooey blood doesn't come unto your PJs," Buffy cautioned.

"Thanks for the tip," Gabriella replied, smiling brilliantly at her before turning her attention back towards the demon.

"I will not talk," the demon croaked out once more.

"The more fun for us," Buffy responded with an evil smile.

As Gabriella pushed the white-hot poker through the demon's belly, causing it to scream out in pain a figure appeared in the doorway. "What is going on here!" the figure screeched.

Three teenage girls looked up and saw Miss Mann standing there with an angry scowl on her face. "What does it look like? We're interrogating this demon for information," Buffy snapped, annoyed by the woman.

Miss. Mann's eyes narrowed on the blonde, "Miss. Summers, I do not care for your tone. Now all of you remove yourself from this Kwaini demon. They are a non-violent species."

Gabriella moved to removed the poker but Buffy quickly cut in, "Don't. That's not a Kwaini demon. They look very different."

Ying-Fa frowned, trying to remember what a Kwaini demon looked like as Miss Mann raised her voice, "I am a Watcher and you will listen to me, young lady. If I say this is a non-violent demon, then it is a non-violent demon. Do you hear me?" She took a threatening step forwards causing Buffy to take a defensive stance.

Buffy swallowed a lump in her throat. 'What the hell is going on? I know this isn't a Kwaini demon. Miss Mann, bitch as she may be, knows that too. But why would she be saying it is? Has she turned over to the other side somehow? Can that happen, someone suddenly becoming evil. I know that she's a bitch, but evil… but what else coul–' Buffy stopped her inner monologue as she figured it out. Miss Mann had to be possessed.

"What are you doing!? Stand down and report to your Watchers immediately," the 'possessed' Watcher ordered.

"Make me," Buffy bit out clenching the knife in her hand. She had no idea how to handle this. Merrick and her barely covered possession in her demon studies. Luckily, her uncle Bill had made sure Buffy knew how to check if humans were possessed.

"Christo!" Buffy spoke up making Miss. Mann flinch and eyes turn black.

"So you figured it out, who knew you had a brain on those tiny shoulders." Miss Mann smiled demonically at Buffy and the other two Potential Slayers.

"I'm the niece of a Hunter," Buffy reminded the possessed Miss Mann with an arrogant smile. In truth, she had no reason to feel arrogant or even confident on how to handle this situation. Yes her Uncle Bill had though her about the Devil's Trap, but it had been over a year ago. She did not have a photographic memory, and she had been ten at the time.

"Buffy? Are you in here?" Merrick inquired as he stepped into the doorway. "What is going on here?"

"Merrick, watch out! She's possessed," Buffy warned, then quickly turned to her two friends, "There is some chalk in the drawer next to my bed, get it."

Not looking to see if they did as she asked, Buffy slashed out with the knife at Miss Mann, who simply laughed as she evaded the slash, then grabbed her arm, twisted it making Buffy cry out in pain while dropping the knife.

Miss Mann caught the knife. "Little girls shouldn't play with grown up weapons," the demon possessing Miss Mann informed her, before kicked an advancing Merrick away who slumped against the wall unconscious.

With her free arm, Buffy punched the woman in the face. The grip lessening on her arm. She faked a repeat she instead stomped down hard on the woman's foot. Able to break free she did and dropped down to avoid a punch and moved to sweep the feet out from under the woman, who jumped over them and landed a hard kick against Buffy's small body, making her fly sideways through the air.

Crashing into the wall from the impact she gritted her teeth in pain as she got back to her feet, a little wobbly. Just then Ying-Fa and Gabriella got back and while Gabriella tossed her the chalk, Ying-Fa was already attacking the woman with the poker that she had taken out of the demon. Gabriella moved to help her with her stake as weapon.

Buffy almost missed catching the chalk but once she had it in hand she dropped down and furiously started to draw what she could remember being the Devil's Trap, finding that as she was drawing it was coming back to her as to what it had to look like. Still the symbols were the hardest, she hoped she was getting them right.

"Ying-Fa!" Gabriella yelled causing Buffy to look up and at the fight. Ying-Fa was standing there, a metal poker sticking out of her back.

"No," Buffy spoke as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hurry up with whatever the hell you are doing!" Gabriella instructed Buffy. "I'll hold the bitch off."

Not wasting another minute, Buffy returned to her task setting the grief out of her mind and using the anger to fuel her work.

"And there goes number three. Demon three, humans zero," the possessed Miss. Mann spoke as she dropped the lifeless body of Gabriella unto the ground.

Buffy looked up just in time to see her friend's body fall. "Gabriella!" she cried out. Hatred burning in her eyes she glared at the demon. "You bitch," she snarled, grabbing her own stake.

"What in the world…" Quentin Travers stood in the doorway looking wide-eyed at the scene before him.

"Get help!" Buffy ordered the older man as she charged the possessed Miss Mann who smiled gleefully at the tiny blonde.

At the last second Buffy rolled sideway and pushed the stake into Miss Mann's leg. The woman winced and then counterattacked with a hard punch Buffy managed to half block. Taking hold of the arm of the woman, Buffy pulled her towards the symbol on the ground.

The possessed Miss. Mann took a few steps towards the symbol, but then stopped and grabbed Buffy by the throat. "A valiant effort, really. But you're no match for –" she stopped talking as Buffy pulled the stake out of her leg with her feet, then kneed the woman in the stomach.

Buffy was dropped to the ground where she struggled for breath, coughing.

"You little bitch!" the demon possessing Miss Mann screeched charging her.

Buffy got her feet up just in time kicking the woman backwards. Possessed Miss. Mann grunted, "Oh, you are so dead!" she screamed and charged her again… "What the… What the hell is this!?" the demon possessing Miss. Mann demanded to know as she bounced of a barrier of some kind.

"Devil's trap, you evil bastard," Buffy spat out coughing, ignoring the demon's screeching and threats she wobbly and unsteady got to her feet and made her way to her friends. She didn't see Quentin and hoped he and help were on their way.

Checking Gabriella's pulse first she closed her eyes after not finding any. Feeling overwhelming grief rise to her throat she almost let herself succumb to it when she hurt a sputter. Looking at its direction she saw Ying-Fa, still alive, coughing up blood. She ran over to her other friend and dropped to her knees next to her taking the Asian woman's right hand in her own.

"Hey, I'm here. Hang on Ying-Fa, help is on the way. Just hang on!" Buffy begged her.

"Bu-fy," Ying-Fa croaked, then her head fell to the side.

"No, Ying-Fa!" Buffy cried out just as Quentin returned with other men Buffy didn't recognize or take any notice off. She didn't notice being pushed aside, Quentin asking her what had happened.

She vaguely remembered grabbing her silver knife and moving towards Miss Mann. Then everything went fuzzy. Someone held her back pleading her to think of what she was doing. She had struggled to break free, the need to revenge too great to fight. Then she had woken up in her own bed, Merrick sitting in a chair beside her. For a split second she had hoped it had been a nightmare, but one look into Merrick's eyes and she knew it hadn't been.

She had asked what had happened to Miss Mann, Merrick had told her some witches from Devon's coven had come and exorcized the demon, sending it back to hell.

Quentin and the rest of the Council had been impressed with her, or so Merrick had told her. Merrick had then told her that the Council had agreed for her to return to the States. Buffy didn't care. It wasn't as if she could return to her family in Nebraska. All she had was Merrick, her friends were dead, her parents were dead. And she was damned if anything was going to happen to the one person she had left.

***

_California, Los Angeles, car, November 1994_

"Have a good day at school?" Merrick asked.

Getting Buffy back into school had been easy for an organization as the Watcher's Council, they simply created a fake birth certificate saying Buffy's twin sister was the one who had died, pulling some strings to not have Buffy's family be informed of it and have Buffy placed in custody of her guardian Merrick.

"I dunno. I mean I like how quiet and trivial my life is at school, but at the same time I want to strangle and slap them all for not seeing what is so obvious to see," Buffy informed him what had been on her mind.

"And here you want to add to that burden and take up cheerleading next year," Merrick told her.

"Yeah, 'cause no matter how stupid I think my friends are sometimes, they do help me take my mind off the demons and stuff," Buffy answered him.

"So they're a distraction that you hate, but need," Merrick summarized.

"I wouldn't say hate, more like dislike," Buffy replied then added, "I just haven't been able to let my guard down for anyone new since…" she trailed off.

"You can talk to me about it, you know," Merrick informed her gently.

"I know," Buffy responded. "It just bothers me that we still don't know who was behind the attack."

"They'll make themselves known eventually. And India will take care of them," Merrick tried to reassure her. India had been the Slayer for over a year now, which according to all the information Buffy had read about Slayers, was over the average.

Buffy let out a sigh. "I know… I know." and part of her did, still she wanted to revenge for whoever ordered that demon to attack the Council Headquarters. And she wanted to do it in person. Sure she hunted at night for vampires with Merrick, but they were stronger, faster and healed a hell of a lot faster than she did. Staking them required traps, cunning, strategy and tactics. There was a lot of work done before the staking part.

It would almost make her ask the Powers That Be to choose her as the next Slayer. Almost, because one, she didn't want India to die. Two, didn't want to die next year, since that was the average life span of the Slayer. And three, she didn't want to fight for the rest of her life, the prospect of her life becoming the Hunt, frightened her and that was one of the reasons she had wanted to go back to school. She needed some normal in her life, something to keep her grounded, keep her from becoming someone whose whole life was hunting.

***

_Ohio, Cleveland, January 1995_

Buffy had not wanted to be anyone near anything familiar when her Birthday was fast approaching. She was scared to death about what could happen. Merrick had written a note for school that Buffy wouldn't be attending for two weeks and they hit the road, ending up in some sleazy motel in Cleveland of all places. Still Buffy didn't mind, as long as they were far away from her family and even her superficial friends.

Right now she was walking by herself in the park. She had told Merrick she needed a walk to clear her head. Merrick told her to be careful and after taking a stake and putting it in back of her red leather pants. A silver knife strapped to her ankle.

So now she was on patrol. She had stopped referring to killing vampires and demons as hunting since she didn't use the weapons a Hunter usually used. She was a Potential Slayer, not a Hunter. Merrick had told her this many times. So she came up with a new term to fight her nightly activities.

***

_Ohio, Cleveland, Park, January 1995_

Fifteen-year-old Dean looked around, it was a nice night out. His dad was covering the other side of the park and Sammy was in the car, waiting. Somewhere there was a Wendigo. His dad said that it had been drawn here by some sort of fixation of mystical energies, whatever that meant.

Dean's hand moved towards his gun when he heard someone approach.

***

Buffy hand went away from inside her purse when she saw the figure remained in its place, not approaching her. 'Probably not a vampire'_,_ she thought to herself. Still she remained careful as she approached the guy.

Buffy moved her hand back towards her purse as the guy started to walk towards her. As his face passed in a nearby lantern she swallowed, damn. 'If this guy is evil, it'd be such a waste.' She quickly shook her head. She might not have a boyfriend, but that was no reason to let her hormones affect her job.

"Hi there, I heard there were some deaths around this place. You shouldn't be out alone at night," Dean commented as he tried to get rid of her.

'What's he up to? Is he being nice or is he just trying to get me to drop my guard so he can attack me'_?_ Buffy wondered while plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Thank you, but I can take care of myself. But you should definitely take your own advice," Buffy responded.

"Listen, kid –" That's as far as he came because the tiny blonde stalked towards him.

'Kid? Why is it always the size? Well, I'll show him.' Buffy stopped in front of him and poked him in the chest. "Who are you calling a kid? I'm 13 and I may not be that tall, but you're not exactly Robert Wedlow yourself."

"Compared to you I am," Dean stated. Where did this girl get off calling him short? But damn, she may not be that tall, but she was pretty hot.

'Did he just insult me again? He did, the handsome asshole!' she thought to herself. "Well at least I'm not some creep warning young women to get out of the park and end up arguing with them."

"I was just trying to keep you safe, but if you want to continue your walk through the park and die, go right ahead. I won't stop you," Dean replied.

"Fine, I will. And if something would attack me I'm sure I could handle it a lot better then you could," Buffy informed him.

"Oh, I don't think so, princess." Dean drawled.

"Excuse me, do either of you have a light?" a man inquired.

"Do I look like I smoke?" Buffy demanded to know as she turned to the newcomer.

"Too bad, how about you?" the man asked.

"Yeah, sure. Hang on," Dean replied, searching his jacket for some matches.

"Figures you'd smoke, lung cancer that appealing to you?" Buffy questioned him.

"Listen, girlie, I do not smoke. I do, however, have some matches on me," Dean bit out at her and tossed the stranger his matches. "Here you go, pal."

It was only then that Buffy noticed the paleness of the skin of the stranger… and wearing of outdated clothes. She watched him light a cigarette and tossing the matches back to the annoying guy.

"Thanks, pal, I might give you eternal life after I have feasted on your girlfriend here." The guy's face shifted and the forehead ridges along with amber eyes appeared.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Buffy stated vehemently at the same time as Dean said she wasn't his girlfriend.

"Great, you run. Get out of here!" Dean ordered seeing the guy was a vampire.

"How about you run and get out of here?" Buffy instructed him as she drew a stake from her bag and took a fighting stance.

"You think you can take me, little girl?" the vampire asked.

"Okay, what is with all the short jokes? Did you put him up to that?!" Buffy accused Dean.

"Don't need to, darlin', everyone in the world can see how small you are. Or well they would but most people would just look over you," Dean drawled.

Buffy gave him an angry glare before avoiding a punch from the vampire and jabbing her own fist towards its abdomen. The vampire blocked it and grinned only to receive a kick against his shin with a follow up punch against his jaw.

Buffy shoved the stake towards his heart, only to have the vampire grab her arm. Before she could counter the vampire turned to dust and crumbled to the ground. She watched Dean stand there stake raised with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"That was my kill!" Buffy snapped at him angrily.

"I believe the words you should be saying are, thank you brave Hunter for saving my life. How could I ever repay you?" Dean corrected her.

"In your dreams," Buffy bit out.

"Oh trust me, darlin', there will be plenty of dreams featuring you," Dean shared winking at her.

"Oh… you… arrogant ass!" Buffy exclaimed just before he was tackled to the ground by some sort of demon with yellow skin and freakishly long claws. She threw her stake at the back of the thing, drawing its attention towards her.

Buffy swallowed taking steps back as she sought a way to buy time so she could draw her knife from her ankle and kill, whatever it was.

"Son of a bitch," Dean cursed and took out his gun, taking aim, he fired at it.

The rock salt hit the target and the Wendigo growled out loud turning its attention back at Dean.

Buffy drew her silver knife from her boot as she watched hot guy fire at the thing again. Whatever he was using, it was obviously hurting it. With the thing on the ground now Buffy stopped wasting time and ran towards it. Once close enough she drove her silver knife through its heart making it howl out in pain. Buffy stabbed it again, making sure she hadn't missed the heart the first time.

Something landed beside her and she was suddenly pulled away from the demon and carried a couple of feet way before being thrown to the ground, hot guy on top of her. A moment later an explosion erupted from where the thing had been.

Buffy looked at the smoke, then back at him. She noticed he was still on top of her watching her intently. "Thanks," she breathed.

Their faces were inches apart, and Buffy could feel the warmth of this breath against her lips.

Dean smiled and leaned in, capturing her lips in a kiss, to which she responded to almost immediately. There was only a second of time before his tongue was devouring her mouth. They kissed roughly, demanding and consuming as Dean moved his hands up to thread into the wild mass of her hair. He pulled against the strands, dominating her mouth as he slanted his head at a sharper angle to devour her further. His tongue batting and twisting around inside of her mouth and it felt like nothing she had ever experienced before.

When Dean broke the kiss when breathing became an issue they looked at each other for a moment. Suddenly Buffy's mind flashed back to a night almost four years ago. His eyes, matched the boys she had met in that alley. He looked older, more handsome and mature than before. But wait, if he was here… that meant his father was here. His father that no doubt knew her Uncle Bill. She couldn't risk her uncle finding out she was still alive. It was too dangerous. She was already pushing her limits to that sending Jo anonymous birthday presents.

She had to do something, say something. "Wow," escaped her lips. Inwardly she groaned, what was wrong with her. She was never this affected by a guy before. She had had boyfriends back in her life in L.A. But somehow they never could get passed just some kissing. Even with a guy on top of her she would get panicked and have flashbacks of a vampire molesting her when she was younger.

And this guy, this Hunter, had been on top for her a while now. She didn't know him, other than that he was a fair Hunter, had a father named John and a brother or sister called referred to as 'Sammy'. She didn't even know his name, yet she didn't feel that fear. The fear she normally felt when a guy was on top of her.

The guy was smiling self satisfied at her, about to go in for another kiss. She wanted to protest, but found herself unable to get her voice to work. Just as his lips were about to touch hers again a voice called, "Dean!"

Dean shot up looking towards the direction the voice came. "Over here, Dad!" he called.

'At least I know his name now, Dean…' Buffy thought to herself as she quickly and quietly got up and sprinted off into the darkness of the night.

As Dean turned to the sound of footsteps he noticed the girl was gone. Looking at the ground when something reflected off it he picked up the silver knife she had been using before.

"Dean! Where are you, we need to go before the cops show up. I assume you got it!" John Winchester's voice yelled from not far away.

"Yeah, Dad, I got it." With a smirk, Dean pocketed the knife and headed into the direction his dad was. He hoped that girl would be back looking for her knife. He wasn't quite done with kissing her yet. 'Cause damn, she had tasted fine.

* * *

review please


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